(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for desensitizing offset printing plates with an aqueous treating liquid.
At present, as offset printing plates, there are known an electrophotographic plate which is provided with a photosensitive layer formed by dispersing inorganic photoconductive particles, such as zinc oxide particles, in a resinous binder and it is intended to form an hydrophobic image thereon by an electrophotographic process, a direct image-printing plate which is provided with an image-accepting layer formed by dispersing an inorganic pigment, such as titanium oxide, in a resinous binder and it is intended to form an image on said layer by directly writing thereon with oily ink or typewriting, a P S plate which is provided with a photosensitive layer consisting of a photohardening resin on an aluminum plate with a coarsened surface and it is intended to form an image by utilizing the difference between the solubility of the exposed area and that of the non-exposed area of said photosensitive layer, and so forth. All of these plates are usually made into an offset master by forming an oleophilic image thereon and then subjecting same to a desensitizing treatment for making the non-image area of the plate hydrophilic. The treating liquid for use in this desensitizing treatment can be broadly divided into 3 kinds: one which consists essentially of a hydrophilic resin such as gum arabic and polyvinyl pyrrolidone or at least one member selected from the group consisting of phosphate, aluminum-alum compound and acid (inorganic or organic), one which consists essentially of a ferrocyanide or ferricyanide proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,872, and one which comprises phytic acid or a metal salt of phytic acid disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 24609/1970 and Japanese Patent Open No. 103501/1976. However, these treating liquids leave something to be desired for use as a satisfactory treating liquid. To be concrete, the first treating liquid is not capable of forming a hydrophilic film having a high physical strength on the non-image area and its film-forming speed is low, and accordingly, when an offset master treated with such an aqueous liquid is employed for printing, the master and the resulting prints develop stains of gearstripe (upon suddenly rotating a printing cylinder at the beginning of offset printing, a blanket cylinder rubs the surface of an offset master thereby to deteriorate the desensitized surface of the same with printing stains.), stains on the ground and collapse of the image upon turning out prints in small quantities, so that it is not of practical use. The second processing liquid, as compared with the first treating liquid, has such merits that it is superior in desensitizability and the physical strength of the hydrophilic film formed thereof is high and the film-forming speed is high. However, it is defective in that it becomes colored when subjected to light or heat, or it gives rise to precipitates while in use or in storage, thereby making the desensitizability thereof unstable. Not only that, as it contains cyan ions, it is undesirable from the view point of public nuisance. And, the third processing liquid is defective in that it is unsatisfactory in respect of desensitizability, and it gives rise to precipitates with the passing of time, thereby causing deterioration of the desensitizability thereof.